DC Theater Demographics: The 2017-18 Season

This year’s analysis of the 2017-18 DC theater season covers playwright and director demographics and the production status of the plays that have been programmed. Completed in collaboration with DC-based theater artist Olivia Haller, the analysis covers plays that opened between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018. The results below represent the final calculation for the 2017-18 season. The data set includes 209 productions at 53 theaters, all of which are listed below.

Note: this year’s analysis has been supported by theatreWashington.

Playwright Demographics: Gender

Of the plays slated to be produced in DC during the 2017-18 season, 63.61% were written by men, 35.43% by women, and .96% by authors who do not use binary gender identities. This represents an increase in gender parity from the previous season, one that can likely be attributed in large part to the second Women’s Voices Theater Festival, which begins later this year. That increase is not as great as the city experienced during the first festival, however, which took place during the 2015-16 season.

For the sake of comparison, here are the current season’s numbers alongside those from the previous five seasons:

Playwright Demographics: Diversity

The breakdown of the playwrights whose plays are slated to be produced in DC during the 2017-18 season is as follows: 78.60% are white, 6.73% are African American, 6.97% are Latinx, 3.37% are Asian American, 1.92% are Arab American, 0.48% are Native American, and 1.92% have multiple racial identities. Overall, this represents an increase in diversity from the previous five seasons:

2017-18: 21.40% playwrights of color

2016-17: 14.96% playwrights of color

2015-16: 19.42% playwrights of color

2014-15: 18.25% playwrights of color

2013-14: 15.73% playwrights of color

2012-13: 14% playwrights of color

Of further interest is the fact that diversity is significantly greater among Equity theaters than among non-Equity theaters:

Equity: 26.71% playwrights of color

Non-Equity: 16.20% playwrights of color

Playwright Demographics: Geography

Finally, of the playwrights whose plays are being produced in DC in the 2017-18 season, 18.28% are residents of the DC metropolitan area. In 2016-17, the number was only 8.70%; in 2015-16, the number was 17%; in 2014-15, the number was 16%; in 2013-14, the number was 13%; and in 2012-13, the number was 16%. Local culture has seen an increase above previous highs in the current season.

Director Demographics: Gender

Of the plays being produced in DC during the 2017-18 season, 59.13% are being directed by men, 40.63% by women, and .24% by artists who do not use binary gender identities. These numbers represent a noticeable increase in gender parity over the previous season:

To emphasize this finding even further: among non-Equity theaters, director assignments are approaching gender parity.

Director Demographics: Diversity

The breakdown of the directors in the 2017-18 season is as follows: 81.64% are white; 8.70% are African American; 5.31% are Latinx; 2.42% are Asian American; .48% are Arab American; .0% are Native American; and 1.45% have multiple racial identities. These numbers represent an increase in diversity among directors:

2017-18: 18.36% directors of color

2016-17: 12.15% directors of color

2015-16: 15% directors of color

2014-15: 13% directors of color

2013-14: 13% directors of color

There was no significant difference between Equity and non-Equity theaters with regard to diversity.

Director Demographics: Geography

Finally, of the directors included in the 2017-18 season, 75.24% are residents of the DC metropolitan area. In the 2016-17 season, that number was 69.89%; in the 2015-16 season, the number was 66.58%; in the 2014-15 season, the number was 71.98%; and in the 2013-14 season, the number was 75.04%. These numbers suggest only modest fluctuation across the previous five years. Also worth noting: Equity theaters hire significantly fewer local directors (54.37%) than non-Equity theaters (95.71%).

Production Data

Of the plays being produced in DC in the 2017-18 season: 24.64% will be having their world premieres; 8.70% will be having their second or third productions; and of the remaining plays, 45.98% were written by living playwrights and 20.69% by dead playwrights.

Another way to consider the same data points: in the 2017-18 season, 33.34% of the plays appearing on DC stages are new, if we define “new” plays as those receiving their first, second, or third productions. (This is, very roughly speaking, the widely-accepted definition used by the National New Play Network.) In the 2016-17 season, that number was 27.47%; in the 2015-16 season, that number was 42.85%; in the 2014-15 season, that number was 32.56%; and in the 2013-14 season, that number was 30.20%.

At the same time, a full 79.31% of the plays being produced in the 2017-18 season were written by living playwrights. In the 2016-17 season, that number was 82.91%; in the 2015-16 season, that number was 86.24%; in the 2014-15 season, that number was 77.87%; and in the 2013-14 season, that number was 77.48%.

Of further interest: non-Equity theaters (31.73%) are significantly more likely to produce world premieres than Equity theaters (17.48%). Similarly, Equity theaters are significantly less likely to produce work by living playwrights (73.63%) than non-Equity theaters (84.94%).